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Sneaky Summer Charter Changes

August is not a good time to revamp New York City's government. New Yorkers shut down in August. They go away. They focus on sunblock and barbecue, like ordinary people. They are not available to discuss whether Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and his successors need more power or whether city elections should be nonpartisan or what should happen if the Mayor suddenly resigns to take another job, like United States senator.

A newly appointed Charter Revision Commission, dominated by the Mayor's admirers and staffed with the Mayor's employees, is trying to slip one under the city's summer radar. The commission issued a report last week proposing 39 changes to the city charter. The 250-page document reads like Mr. Giuliani's political wish list. In it, the City Council loses power on land use and budget issues. The Mayor gets a $50 million education fund. The Arts Commission disappears. A commission for organized-crime control materializes. The Public Advocate, a position now held by one of the Mayor's least favorite public officials, Mark Green, would lose a few functions, including the power to preside over the City Council.

At the very least, such changes deserve the kind of vigorous debate that New Yorkers do so well. But the schedule does not allow for extended discourse. The commission will permit public comment in August. By September, when New Yorkers are back at full speed, the commission will already have picked the proposals it wants to include on the November ballot. With no big-ticket, citywide races on the menu, November's vote will barely make a news ripple, and a small number of charter revision fans can make a huge difference.

Some officials have suggested that the commission itself is a political ploy. Last year the Mayor set up a similar summertime commission to create a minor change in the charter. The whole charade was really a way of stopping another referendum on Yankee Stadium, since a charter referendum blocks any other referendum on the ballot.

But the charter package presented last week suggests that the Mayor's purpose is far grander this year. It is true that there are some items among the 39 proposals that would actually help the city, such as a requirement that city services be offered to all residents regardless of citizenship. But the overall process looks suspiciously like a surprise attack on the way the city is governed.